Lagos assures residents, parties on conduct of council election

The Lagos government has assured residents and political parties of its resolve to conduct election into the state’s 20 local councils and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs) soon.

Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Justice Ayokunle Phillips, who gave the assurance yesterday during a tour of the commission’s offices council-wide, dismissed speculations that the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration was not disposed to the conduct of the polls.

The last elected council officials vacated office on October 29, 2014. And ever since, the councils had been managed by executive secretaries and sole administrators.

Noting that the tour was part of the commission’s pre-election modalities, she assured residents that election would be held as soon as arrangements were concluded.

She expressed dissatisfaction at the state of the offices allocated to some electoral officers at the councils.

Phillips described the structures of the concerned officers in some of the 12 councils already visited as “disgusting’’.

The LASIEC chairman, however, commended the authorities of some of the councils for providing office accommodation for electoral officers deployed in their domains.

She urged the authorities in the various councils to make the offices conducive to enable the officers discharge their duties effectively.

The commission’s Permanent Secretary, Olumide Lawal, charged the councils to prioritise welfare of electoral officers, describing as unacceptable a scenario where they share offices with council workers.

Lawal, therefore, urged councils to allocate offices that would be conducive for the nature of the job of electoral officers.

Phillips was accompanied on the visit by directors and heads of departments in the commission. The tour continues today.